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Intertwine (NO) – “Let Go”

Norwegian label Brilliance is a bit like the Nordic version of beloved American label Cascine. Each seems to specialize in its own certified cocktail of electronic music whose distinct bliss comes from stirring elements of ambient production and electronic arrangements into pop music structures. The labels also share an artist in common: longtime Nordic Spotlight favorite Intertwine, whose newest single, “Let Go,” is out today on both Brilliance and Cascine’s singles label CSCN (it should also be noted that Brilliance also runs a singles label, Diamond Club).

Intertwine frontman Tarjei Ekelund says that “Let Go” is “a song about that feeling when a relationship or a friendship dies out. Everything starts to feel numb, and you have to let go of each other to move on.” With bandmates Aleksander Berg and Ruben Nesse at his side, Ekelund manages to build “Let Go” on a cornerstone of juxtaposed longing and exuberance. Passed through about as much phaser and reverb as one might hear on a Washed Out song, Ekelund’s voice exudes melancholy and distance through its plainspoken delivery, but the diamond-bright sparkle of the track’s synths and keys imply an excitement, a long-forgotten feeling of completeness making its long-awaited return.

“We went high and low,” Ekelund reminisces as the song’s chorus expands the verses’ platinum sparkle to include bird-like coos and a thicker pulse courtesy of enhanced bass-and-drum interaction. As he looks back on the connection he once felt with the song’s subject (or subjects—it’s not unlikely that the character he’s conjured is some combination of the many people with whom he’s lost that spark), he vaclliates between sounding disconsolate and content; towards the song’s end, though, a synthetic crescendo bolstered by Kaputt-esque saxophones reels in a layer of glee. This outro is a potent reminder that, more often than not, closure can be achieved, and the emotional weight it lifts is nothing short of ecstasy.

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Max Freedman is the Managing Editor of Nordic Spotlight. Now based in Philly after a lifetime of living in and around NYC, he spends his days searching for the next Björk and his nights searching for the next Björk. His byline can also be found in FACT, Vinyl Me Please, Bandcamp Daily, Paste, FLOOD, and more.